A LOVE TO BELIEVE IN
by FromAWorldNextDoorToYours
Summary: Matt still marveled at having this kind of power over a woman like his Rebekah. Immortal. Beautiful. So far out of his league he should never even have contemplated looking in her direction. But, and this was the most amazing but in his world, she looked right back.


**Disclaimer: The words are mine. The characters are not. The song mentioned belongs to the artist. Please respect the commercial rights of the creators/original owners.**

* * *

**_You could have a change of heart, if you would only change your mind_**

**_Cause I'm crazy 'bout you baby, time after time… _**

**_When Love & Hate Collide – Def Leppard_**

* * *

Rage coursed through her veins. They were out there on the dance floor and the little tart had her hands all over him. He was hers and she'd be dammed if she let the little Gilbert bitch get away with pawing him in public, infusing his persona with her revolting scent. Nothing in the world would give her more pleasure than ending the doppelganger's existence once and for all. She surely couldn't come back from the dead twice? Not even Fate could be such a cruel mistress.

For a thousand years some or other unworthy little strumpet with the likeness of Elena Gilbert had made her life miserable. When she was human those many centuries ago, all she wanted was a little attention from her beloved brothers. To feel like she meant something to them, that she and her happiness were as important to them as they and theirs were to her.

Their family was never a happy family by any stretch of the imagination. Mikael ruled with an iron fist, and Esther was a ruthless, cold and calculating mother. Yes, together her parents had devised a way to keep their children safe from Death's grasp, but Rebekah never, not for a minute, believed it was out of love. With her parents it was all about power and status. She'd always believed immortalizing the family was more about the achievement, the glory of playing god, than it was about a true desire to keep the family together as an unbroken whole. Henrik's pre-mature death had made it impossible even before their plan had developed enough to take its first infant steps.

In those days, Niklaus was her only true friend. He spent time with her, knew her hopes, her dreams, her fears and her miseries and confided his to her. Elijah alone among her other siblings paid her any mind, occasionally engaging in games or sharing chores, but their connection was not as strong. He never took her seriously. She understood, with an ache in her heart, that his patient indulgence of her little girl fantasies was born out of his sense of duty rather than a true need to bond with his little sister.

Then Tatia came along and everything was ruined. Both Elijah and Niklaus so wrapped up in their courtship of her, the vile little creature who had already borne another man's child, a man who was not her husband, that neither of them had time for little Rebekah anymore. Though she would rather be roasted alive over an open flame than admit it to another living soul, it was the loneliest time of her life.

When she learned her mother had sacrificed Tatia in the ritual performed to turn her and her siblings along with their father into vampires, she felt something close to enjoyment for the first time since the wicked wench entered their already collectively miserable lives.

Fast forward a few centuries and enter Katerina. A carbon copy of Tatia, Rebekah at first thought she had encountered a ghost. What a grave error in judgment. Katerina, at least, had more spirit than dearly departed Tatia. Rebekah held a grudging respect for the younger vampire, privately awed by the raven-haired beauty's ability to stay one step ahead of her vengeful brother for as long as she had.

She reserved the right to hate Katherine's guts; however, for once again both her brothers were smitten with the same girl. Never had the phrase "history repeating" held a more ironically horrible truth. Rebekah consoled herself with the suspicion that this time around Niklaus had no true feelings for the doppelganger. His sole interest came from his own twisted, self-serving scheme.

Turning her attention back to the present, she glowered menacingly in Elena's direction. Her life was finally free of the threat of Mikael, her family, dysfunctional as it may be, no longer constantly on the run. At long last she had the opportunity to LIVE. Something she'd craved for the duration of her existence. The burning desire to be a normal girl with everyday problems and boring routines were as integral a part of her being as the killer instinct that ensured she was one of the most dangerous predators roaming this continent.

But as always, there was a doppelganger throwing a spanner in the works. She was sick and tired of everything being about Elena. Keep Elena safe, keep Elena happy, get Elena's precious blood, make sure Elena finds a healthy male to spread her legs for and procreate in order for there to be another mini Elena to torture her a century or two from now. Elena, Elena, Elena. It was an endless refrain, a broken record and her patience had run out not too long after she was undaggered.

At least the procreation option is off the table since the doppelganger's change of species. That has to count for something, if you were to be the optimistic type latching on to small victories. Rebekah was not in the mood tonight, what with the latest and greatest scheme being to cure the Gilbert tart. No way in Hell or on Earth would Rebekah allow this plan to come to fruition. She wanted the cure for herself. Ironically so she could spend a normal human lifespan with the idiot responsible for her current pissed-off state.

Tossing back the drink in her hand, blinded by the venomous anger rippling through her body, Rebekah marches out onto the dance floor. Tapping Elena on the shoulder hard enough to leave a mark, she turns accusing eyes on Matt, further enraged by his challenging half-smirk and raised eyebrows. He doesn't even have the decency to look guilty! She points her finger at a bewildered Elena, "Get your filthy little hands off my date, and you," she bit off in Matt's direction, "quit flaunting your so-called friendship," she air-quoted the word, "with this deprived little whore in my house, of all places."

"Jealous, Rebekah?" he asks, his expression taunting, his tone laced with patience. It was one of his most irritating and endearing traits. It really did take a lot to get Matthew Donovan riled up. She often thought his steadfast, easy-going nature balanced out her personality beautifully. Tonight it just grated on her nerves.

"Rebekah, I'm…" Elena tried really hard to suppress the anger flaring to life inside her, her heightened emotions causing a far more severe reaction than the situation called for.

"Oh, shut it, Elena. Nobody gives two damns about your excuses. All you were, the only value you had, was a glorified blood bag with an expiry date and you're well past that now, what with sporting a pair of fangs all your own."

Ignoring Matt's disapproving expression, Rebekah clasps him by the wrist and guides him away; leaving a still shocked Elena to her own devices.

Slipping into Nik's study, she closes the door behind them, turning on him with fire. "You're my date tonight, more precisely, you're my boyfriend, a part of this household and this family and I will not tolerate being humiliated and made a fool of while you sniff around Elena like a dog getting a whiff of a bitch in heat!"

Matt's expression goes carefully blank, his eyes turning to ice. Realizing she might have just gone too far, Rebekah shuts up. After all, he'd just moved back in and she knew he hasn't as yet forgiven her for causing Elena's death. He may never forgive her fully. Matt was a laid back kind of guy. It took a lot to stir him into a temper, but experience has taught her he is not a man to be messed with. Sure, he was a mere human and his physical strength could not begin to compare with hers, but he had the power to destroy her emotionally. Since spending more time with her brothers in a bid to gain the acceptance of his new family, he has also "manned up" and he utilizes his advantages in a fashion that allows him to fit right in to her world. His friends would hardly recognize the man he had become if they could tear themselves away from their own issues long enough to realize their friend was not the same home baked apple pie kind of wholesome he used to be.

When her tirade cuts off, a slow smirk forms around his exceptionally kissable lips, distracting Rebekah. Noticing the hitch in her breathing, which had to be considerable giving his mere human senses, the quarterback leans forward, hovering over her mouth, their breath mingling. She licks her lips, tilting her head back, butterflies coming alive in her stomach in anticipation of his kiss. It still baffled her how this human boy could garner such an intense reaction from her with nothing more than a look and a suggestion of more.

"Sexy Beks, you know you're the only bitch in heat I'm interested in right now." His voice is low, seductive, and it takes her a minute to process his words. Matt was indeed very different around her since she caused him to crash that damn truck of his, effectively killing Elena, taking out Alaric and damaging any chance she had at having the fairy tale romance she dreamed of with the high school football star. In one fell swoop, she'd managed to save herself and her family, once again sacrificing her own happiness for their – and yes, her own – survival. Matt from before the accident would not be using such crude language with her or any other woman. His dirty talk turned her on immensely, which only pissed her off all the more, if that was even possible.

Matt still marveled at having this kind of power over a woman like his Rebekah. Immortal. Beautiful. So far out of his league he should never even have contemplated looking in her direction. But, and this was the most amazing but in his world, she looked right back, and regardless of how impossible it seemed, he possessed the ability to disarm this gorgeous albeit damaged, creature with little more than a touch and a few well-chosen words.

Admittedly, she brought out a darker side in him, one that never reared its head until she came into his life. He figured the unease he felt because of it was a small price to pay for the safe haven he found in her arms. Thanks to her vampiric healing, he was the only one who ever sported a bruise or two, so it was easy to shrug off, and indulge, his occasional urge to hurt her.

Snarling she shoves him back sharply, her strength causing him to fly across the room and crash into a bookshelf. He gingerly touches a hand to the back of his head. It comes away wet with blood. He grimaces, "Bloody hell, Rebekah, was that really necessary?!" His eyes, her favorite shade of blue since the moment she first looked into them, darkening with murderous intent as he gets up, rushing her at full speed. She could have avoided him; they're both painfully aware of it. Instead, she's caught up against his strong chest and slammed against the opposite wall with such force that a few framed pictures fall to the floor.

Something about him being rough, manhandling her resonates with the deepest, darkest parts of her soul. If she was human, and if this wasn't a game, it would have disturbed her.

Violence against women has always been something he despised, but with Rebekah… Matt found himself enjoying her fleeting pain. It bothered him, in those unguarded moments when he allowed his mind to dwell on it. Sure, this was part of their dynamic, and for all intents and purposes, it was only foreplay. But his mind whispered that a part of himself he didn't want to acknowledge meant all of it. The harsh words, the physical pain he inflicted, the loathing, all of it had a foundation built on truth. He hated what she did to him. Hated still wanting her after all the pain she had caused his friends and himself, directly or indirectly. She was a weakness to him, no matter how hard he fought, no matter how wrong he tried to convince himself this attraction to her was, at the end of the day he still found himself in her bed, powerless to resist the allure she held.

Curling her hands into his hair, she yanks back his head roughly, her face changing slowly, revealing the vampire within. Drawing back her leg, she kicks out, her high heeled shoe connecting with his shin with a satisfying crack, eliciting a howl of pain and fury.

"You're going to pay for that!"

Rebekah just narrowly escapes the not quite playful slap Matt doles out in retaliation, twisting violently out of his grasp, taunting, "A slap? Really, Matthew! How girly of you!"

Roaring, almost beside himself, Matt descends upon her, only to be avoided. Laughing wildly, invigorated and not quite as pissed off as moments ago, Rebekah keeps dancing away, staying just out of his reach.

"Come on Matt, surely I can't be that hard to catch! Not even for a human!"

He growls, eliciting a playfully nervous giggle as she sidesteps him again, backing her into a corner…accidentally on purpose, of course.

"Gotcha!" Caging her in, Matt experiences a sudden sharp pain in his already injured head, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass and an explosion of water and flowers all over his suit.

"Oh my god! Your expression right now!" Rebekah breaks out into peals of uncontrolled laughter, holding her sides.

"Dammit, Beks! This suit is Armani! My girlfriend is going to throw a bitch-fit! She just bought it for me. She'll have both our heads for destroying high fashion!" He sounds furious, but his eyes are twinkling at their joke, warming her undead heart. He hadn't looked at her with so much humor or secret knowledge all day.

"I…I'm sorry!" She tries to keep a straight face, but fails, throwing her arms around his shoulders as she keeps laughing.

A very irritated Matt pushes her away and shrugs out of his ruined jacket, pulling his equally wet shirt off.

"Would you stop that incessant noise?!" He attempts to hold on to Grinch-mode.

Her sides aching, Rebekah pulls herself together with effort, catching her breath, the occasional hysterical giggle threatening to escape. She so loves when he teases her. These inside jokes are one of the many highlights of their relationship.

Admiring the sculpted perfection of rippling muscles put on display while Matt peels the wet dress shirt from his torso, she scoots onto Nik's desk. "Oh, Matt lighten up, would you? It's only water. I promise to replace the Armani."

"I don't care about the Armani. Hell, the only reason I know it is Armani is because you told me. What was that little display," waving his fingers in the air "all about?"

Shrugging uncomfortably, "You were dancing with Elena. She's your ex, and I know she fed from you at the memorial, and that she's still feeding from you. I understand, I really do, why you let her. She's your friend and you owe her your life for all practical purposes. I love that you care enough to put yourself through that, but she doesn't really need you specifically anymore since she can do the blood bag routine and seeing her in your arms tonight…" she trails off.

"You were jealous?"

Nodding, dipping her head to avoid his scrutiny, "Yes, I was jealous. Every time I turn around, a man in my life, be it boyfriend or brother, is ready to drop everything, including me to rush to the doppelganger's side. I don't like feeling this way, acting like a possessive hag with the man I love every time he looks at another girl in friendship, but sometimes I just can't help it." Peeking through her lashes, she's relieved to see he wasn't angered by her admissions. She couldn't read his expression, but she was sure he wasn't angry.

Walking to her, surprised yet again by how insecure she is underneath the tough exterior, his palms gently cup her cheeks, his orbs filled with sincerity. "Beks, you're the only one I want. Elena has no hold over my emotions anymore. She hasn't in a long time. I made peace with her choosing Stefan a long time ago. I also realized when I got involved with Caroline, that what I had with Elena wasn't true love. Caroline and I, we were good together, but it wasn't love either."

His arms surrounding her, he pulls her against him, his very own immortal goddess, vulnerable as a little girl whenever she lets her guard down, kissing her brow, down the side of her face and to her ear, whispering "Do you have any idea how incredibly hot you are when you're all pissed off and possessive?"

Smiling, a sensation of warmth radiating out from her heart, she murmurs, "Oh?"

Tilting her head back, kissing the smooth column of her throat, causing her to shiver as he scrapes his blunt teeth along her carotid artery, "You're a vision. A fire-breathing angel. You take my breath away, Sexy Beks, even in those moments when I don't admire myself for loving you."

"Just, ah…don't forget to breathe. You need oxygen. I read that somewhere." Delighted when he chuckles, she wraps her arms around him, dropping her head on his shoulder, a contented sigh escaping her as his hands roam across her back.

Dropping a kiss on her nose, he steps back. "I'd ask you to go out there and dance, but if Elena gets a load of this," he gestures at his washboard abs, "you might have to kill her…in public…with Caroline's mother as a witness."

Growling because she knows it's what he wants, she hisses playfully "The baby vamp better keep her hands to herself, or she'll lose a few fingers."

"Down girl!" he laughs.

Rolling her eyes, Rebekah rises from the desk. "I could get you a shirt from our room, or Nik's since its closer….or, we could…"

Shaking his head sadly, "No Rebekah, we're not going upstairs. This place is crawling with vampires and I prefer none of them know what you sound like in the throes of passion."

"Are you sure? Or is it that you don't want your friends to hear when you scream my name?" fluttering her lashes, smirking at the way blood rushes into his cheeks, she throws open a window. "I was going to suggest we go for a swim…but there might be snakes in the water." She waggles her brows, giving his crotch a not-so-subtle once-over.

Laughing, helpless to resist the temptation she constantly puts in his path despite his best efforts to rationalize why he should hate her, Matt closes the gap between them, taking her hand. "I'll risk the snakes if you will."

* * *

Drifting in the cool water of the lake, both of them naked, Matt points out a shooting star. Rebekah responds with a melancholic smile. "If only I believed in wishes."

"Hey, Beks, what's the matter?" It concerns him, the way she can go from a seemingly bubbly and carefree girl to this creature that appeared to be carrying the burdens of all mankind on her shoulders. He still had no idea how to predict her sudden changes of mood, what exactly she saw in small things like a shooting star, or a rose on her pillow that made her look so…alone.

Treading water, Rebekah twines her arms around Matt, looking him in the eye, her expression serious, the sadness she couldn't seem to shake skimming just below the surface.

"I love you, Matthew Donovan. I love everything about you. It won't last. That's the one thing you learn when you live as long as I have, when you know you'll live forever. Nothing lasts. Nothing except you. You'll grow tired of me; want a family and leave to live the normal, human life you deserve. Or worse, you won't. You'll stay and waste your life on me, and a few decades from now, I'll stand by your grave and I'll look not a minute older than I do now and I would have selfishly robbed you of a full life with a wife and kids, grandchildren. Or, worse still, I'll turn you. You, Matt, the most down to earth, normal, human guy I've ever known. I'll strip you of your humanity, all those sweet qualities I adore so much, and you'll hate me for it and you'll leave me. And I'd deserve your scorn, for I'd have destroyed the one good thing in my life."

Her tears broke his heart. All he wanted was normal. Where other people dreamed of fame and fortune, Matt Donovan dreamed of an easy, low-key life with a stable family and a good home. When he became aware of the supernatural, that dream became a bit of an obsession. Until he met Rebekah, he thought nothing would sway him to think differently.

"Rebekah, I love you and nothing you do or don't do could change that. You've done horrible things, and it's hard, knowing some of what you did, but I love you and I understand why you did some of them. I know you'll do more terrible things somewhere down the line. It comes with the territory when you get involved with somebody supernatural. I've made peace with what and who you are, and with my own feelings for you. I hated myself for wanting you. I don't anymore. Nobody is perfect and I've come to believe you get a little more leeway than the rest of us, having to put up with your crazy brothers and everything else you've ever had to deal with. At the end of the day good and evil, right and wrong, it's all just perception. Under the right circumstances, each and every one of us can justify a terrible deed as being the right course of action. I accept all of you, love all of you. Let's live in this moment and deal with questions like me turning tomorrow, or next week, or after graduation. Just know, when the time comes, I will opt for immortality because forever is the time frame attached to my vision of us being together.

Wanting desperately to believe him, she drops her head on his shoulder, ignoring the small voice in her head whispering that he'll leave, like everyone she ever cared about before him.

"I have a lead on Katherine and the cure. I'll be following that in the morning. I'll miss you."

Pulling her tighter against his chest, Matt wishes he knew how he could make her believe she had him, all of him, for as long as she'd have him.

"If the cure is what you want, I'll support you every step of the way. Just promise me you don't want to take it because of some misguided notion that I would rather have a mortal you by my side. I will not be the reason you throw away an eternity of health for becoming a frail being who can be snuffed out in an instant."

Raising her head once more, Rebekah searches his gaze, these words more than his confession of love telling her that he truly cared.

"I've craved a normal life far longer than you've been alive, Matt. This is something I wanted before you. I do want it more now, with you, simply because I can imagine growing old, being normal with someone I already love."

"Having children with you, those grandchildren you mentioned earlier, a mortgage, health insurance", he mentions with a wry smile, "is something I would cherish every day, for as long as we might have together as a mortal couple. If that is the life you truly desire, nothing will make me happier than giving it to you, sharing it with you. But, Rebekah, being realistic, we have to keep in mind that ultimately we might have no other choice than using the cure against Silas."

"I know, Matt. I just really want it, the cure, and the life you described. I'm ready to live life my way, to die my way. And I want to do it with you."

Lacing their fingers together, Matt takes a deep breath, for what he is about to say, and her reaction to it, will change everything, one way or another.

"Marry me, Rebekah."

"What?"

"You heard me. Marry me. Not immediately. In a year or so, after we've graduated high school, had time to plan the perfect fairy tale wedding I hear girls want, that I want to be honest."

"Matt…I…Are you insane?"

"Quite the contrary. I want to spend my life with you, Rebekah. Nobody else will do for me. I don't care if you're an Original vampire, or if you get to be a normal human girl with an uncanny knowledge of times long past. I want you, and only you, to be my lover, my friend, my wife. Whether we have six or eight decades, or centuries ahead of us, I want to spend that time with you. Say you'll belong to me like you've never belonged to another."

"Yes! I'll be all those things."

* * *

Hours later, after they had sneaked, dripping wet, back into the house and proceeded to assault the imaginations and hearing of whomever was still around in the mansion at that hour with their rather vocal brand of lovemaking, Matt and Rebekah made their way downstairs.

Niklaus, looking up from his morning coffee, smiles knowingly. "I take it you two enjoyed the ball. Though I don't remember seeing you around for most of the evening. There also appears to be some damage done to my private study. Guests these days, nothing is sacred."

Giggling like a little girl knowing she's going to get away with a naughty deed, Rebekah plants a noisy kiss on her brother's cheek. "The ball was lovely, your taste in guests leaves a lot to be desired and I'm changing my last name to Donovan."

Niklaus choked on his coffee. "You're doing what?!"

Slapping his future brother-in-law on the back to clear his airways, Matt calmly informs the Original hybrid, "I asked your sister to marry me. She said yes."

Niklaus is literally left speechless. His gaze shoots from his sister to the boy he'd assumed, even after he moved in and seamlessly fell into the unique rhythm of the Mikaelson household, to be no more than a toy.

"What's the matter, Nik? Cat got your tongue?" Rebekah enquires sweetly. Matt is wise enough to conceal a quick grin by ducking into the pantry to retrieve his favorite breakfast cereal.

Recovering far slower than he liked, Niklaus got up, hugged his sister and shook Matt's hand.

"Congratulations." Still gripping the quarterback's hand, Niklaus increases the pressure to just this side of pain. "Hurt my sister, and I'll display your head on a pike at the front entrance."

Holding his ground, Matt gives the hybrid no indication of the discomfort he's in. "Understood."

Rebekah rolls her eyes, getting between the two men she loves most in this world when neither of them backs down. "Cut it out you two. There is no alpha male here, just my brother and my fiancé. I'm not a bone, and you two aren't dogs to be fighting over me or my affections. Don't cross me on this, Nik."

Stepping back, his eyes still boring into Matt's, Niklaus answers. "Oh, I wouldn't dare sister." Finally looking at her, he continues. "Are you happy? Is this what's right for you?"

Smiling, looking more radiant than he could recall ever seeing her, "It is. He's what I need to be happy."

"Well in that case… Matt, I sincerely hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

Just narrowly avoiding the coffee mug Rebekah throws at his head, Niklaus turns a wry smile on Matt. "See what I mean?"

Laughing, the camaraderie which surprisingly developed between the men restored, "I know exactly what I'm doing, Nik. She's everything I could have wished for."

* * *

_Author's Note: Thanks a million for taking the time to read this little glimpse in the fantasy lives of Rebekah and Matt. I would love to know what your reaction is, whether good or bad. _


End file.
